


Don't Be That Guy

by Hamartian



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Maybe OOC, i'm not sure, just read it, possible romance in the future?, relationship more implied, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 23:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2044887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hamartian/pseuds/Hamartian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know when you're on the train and there's that one guy that won't shut the fuck up? Well, Eren is that guy and Levi kind of wants to do him severe bodily harm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Be That Guy

**Author's Note:**

> So uhhh, here's a thing for you guys? Not completely sure what I need to do with this, so if you have time, I'd love feedback because I'm not sure if this needs to be continued or if it's okay to stand alone. Either way, Levi's point of view, clearly. Enjoy. xx

Typically, for sanitation reasons, I avoided public transportation at all costs. Buses, taxis, subways, trains, etc. They were disgusting. The thought of sharing an enclosed space with a group of germ-infested strangers for any amount of time made my stomach churn.

 

This little rule usually worked out for me because I had my own car and if I took the roads on the outskirts of the city, it was easy to avoid the worst of the traffic. Sure, my travel time was probably half an hour longer than it needed to be to get to anywhere I was going, but that was a small price to pay in order to avoid the disease and sickness crawling all over cab seats.

 

The only flaw was that, sometimes, inevitably, cars had to go to the shop. And fuck me if my car hadn't fucked up, leaving me without personal transportation until the following Monday. I had stayed at work hours longer than I should have in dread of leaving and having to occupy the same space as the obnoxious population that would surely be filling the subway.

 

I waited until I knew I would have to run to catch the very last car heading across town, praying that everyone else in their right mind would have already found their way home or to the clubs for the night. It was Friday, after all.

 

I made a mad dash down the concrete steps, scanning my pristine, never-used transportation card in haste. I threw myself through the doors of the train car as they began to slide shut. Looking around, there were only a few other occupants sharing my precious oxygen.

 

I made my way to an open seat that looked relatively clean, making sure to be close to the door. I placed my coat and briefcase in the seat next to me and allowed my most agitated expression to slide over my face in hopes of deterring any seat partners or conversations.

 

With my arms crossed tightly over my chest and my legs crossed, ankle over knee, I looked around to observe the people offending my lungs with their carbon dioxide.

 

There were two men in suits, much like mine, talking quietly at the end of the car. A middle aged woman on the other end, feet in the chair in front of her, sighed and looked out the window. She picked absently at a stray string on the pink apron around her, covered in grease stains.

 

Sitting in the seat directly diagonal to mine was a brown haired, college-aged guy. He had on black skinny jeans and red Vans. There was a forest green backpack in the seat next to him that he was using as an arm rest. His long legs were crossed at the ankle in front of him. I scoffed to myself. Brat, taking up the entire aisle. Allowing my eyes to travel up his thin frame, I took in the white t-shirt hugging his lithe torso. My eye twitched at the small, yellow stain near the bottom hem.

 

He had a red, plaid button-up over the plain white tee. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off strong, tan forearms. I looked up at his face and noticed for the first time that he had headphones in, disappearing somewhere around his pockets. His eyes were closed and his face was serene but for his lips moving slightly to mouth the words of whatever music filled his ears.

 

He shifted and his shirt moved, allowing just a hint of a tattoo to peer out from his chest. I raised an eyebrow. Then again, he certainly looked the type. Except for the innocence his face displayed and the boyish way his hair fell over his head.

 

I glanced down at my watch. Only five minutes had passed out of probably twenty. Fucking fantastic.

 

I looked back up when I heard a soft hum across the aisle. The guy, probably a teenager with that face, was getting more into the song and humming along. Wonderful. Make this ride even better.

 

I cleared my throat in an attempt to dislodge the brunette from his little world with no luck. His eyes remained tightly closed, lips still moving, and he emitted small, guttural sounds from the back of his throat. He was just quiet enough to annoy me and to go unnoticed by the rest of the passengers. Whatever.

 

I looked away and huffed. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I liked things a certain way. I was so thrown off of my normal schedule that every little thing was irritating to no ends, especially the fact that I was going to have to do laundry as soon as I got home because I was sitting on a disgusting seat that was probably ruining my clothes.

 

I tuned out the kid as best as I could, until he completely forgot where he was and began singing quietly. I looked up again, hoping my glare would burn holes into his face. It was just my fucking luck that I would end up sitting across from _that guy._ He didn't open his eyes while I glared, and he didn't stop singing. Eventually, when I had too much, I uncrossed my legs and stretched out my right foot to kick his calf.

 

His eyes snapped open and I felt my tense, seething expression ease up just a little. He had really pretty eyes. They sort of shimmered. The color was a rare green, especially for here in Japan. My frown deepened again, this time for a different reason.

 

He pulled one ear bud out of his ear and let it fall. Now I could hear the gritty echo of the song blaring from his tiny speakers.

 

“Can I help you, sir?”

 

His voice was smooth, deep, and kind. I'd kicked the shit out of him, but he didn't seem all that affected or offended. Could he help me? Was that a joke?

 

“You realize you're singing aloud, don't you?” I condescendingly pointed out.

 

“Um, I... Uh... Oh. Shit. That's embarrassing. Sorry about that,” he replied, grinning sheepishly and reaching in his pocket to pull out an MP3 player, shutting it off and wrapping his headphones around it. The blush that stained his cheeks was undeniably cute.

 

He leaned over to put it away in his backpack, but when he opened the bag, a large book fell out and slid across the aisle to my feet.

 

“Shit,” he uttered.

 

Before he could lean over and retrieve the leather bound book, I reached down and picked it up myself. I turned it over, running my fingers over the cover and tracing the title. I noticed the worn look of the pages, the wear and tear of multiple reads traced the edges.

 

“Heh, sorry. It's my favorite book. I should probably take better care of it,” Eren joked.

 

“Your favorite, huh?”

 

“Oh, yeah. It's kind of a depressing story, but I really connect to the characters. It feels really realistic. Other than the man-eating giants and all.”

 

“I'll be sure to tell Hanji you enjoyed it.”

 

I met his eyes as I leaned over and offered him the book, watching his eyes widen as he took it.

 

“You _know_ Hanji?”

 

“Yeah. She's obnoxious and loudmouthed, but she's been my best friend since grade school.”

 

“Holy fuck. Are you...are you Levi?”

 

“Hmm? Yeah. How'd you know?”

 

“Oh, the dedication is to her, uh, 'uptight best friend' named Levi. It didn't seem like that would be a um, far stretch to be you,” he muttered.

 

I let out a breathy laugh and scoffed.

 

“I guess not.”

 

“I'm Eren. It's nice to meet you.”

 

“You, too.”

 

I gave my watch a surreptitious glance and, seeing that I still had fifteen minutes until my estimated arrival, decided to strike up an actual conversation to pass time.

 

“So, what do you do?”

 

“Oh, I'm a senior at the university in town mainly. I work at a movie theater part-time, too.”

 

I looked at him for a long moment, the knowledge that he worked at a theater triggering some sort of recognition.

  
“Do you happen to work at Rose Cinemas?”

 

His eyes widened yet again, a half smile playing at his lips.

 

“Yeah, actually. Have you seen me there?”

 

“I guess so. I was there a couple Saturdays ago on a _terrible_ blind date,” I grumbled.

 

“Oh, no! That bad?” he laughed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

 

“It was horrible. My friend Petra likes to try and set me up with guys all the time, and they're never my type at all. I don't know why I ever agree to it.”

 

I realized as soon as I stopped talking that I'd pretty much admitted I was gay, but Eren didn't seem to have any reaction. Not openly, anyway.

 

“My sister does the same thing. She thinks she's sneaky. She'll make plans for us to go out with friends or whatever, but I'll go to meet her and she'll call and say something like, 'Oh, I can't make it! But _so and so...'_ from work or school or something will be waiting for me. So I'll end up on a date with some dude that's completely boring or overbearing or just the total opposite of the kind of guy I'm into.”

 

I found myself smiling at his story, nodding along.

 

“Why would you need to go on blind dates, though? You don't seem like you'd have any problems getting dates for yourself,” Eren commented slyly, giving me a discreet look from under his eyelashes.

 

I rolled my eyes and leaned back a bit more relaxed in my seat.

  
“I don't have _problems_ getting dates. I just don't have the time. And honestly, there aren't any guys interesting enough to catch my eye at the office,” I explained defensively.

 

“The office?” he asked.

 

“Yeah. I work for an insurance company. Boring shit, boring people,” I answered.

 

“You don't seem all that boring,” came his quick reply.

 

“You think?”

 

“I mean, I don't know you or anything. I don't know. You just seem like you have more to you than face value. You're wearing the suit and carrying the briefcase, but you look more like you're just playing the part. Not like it's your calling or anything, to sell insurance.”

 

Eren's deep eyes studied me quizzically, analytically. If I'm honest, it sent a rush of pleasure through me that this kid didn't think I looked like the mundane people I imitated and surrounded myself with.

 

“Are you a psychology major?”

 

“Yeah. That obvious?”

 

I shrugged in response, studying him now.

 

“How old are you?” he questioned, head tilting slightly.

 

“Thirty-one.”

 

“Oh.”

 

His mouth formed a nice, surprised circle. I chuckled inwardly. My age was usually a mystery.

 

“Are you trying to catch flies?” I asked, agitated at his stupid expression.

 

His mouth snapped shut while he leaned back.

 

“Sorry. You just don't look that old. I didn't expect it.”

 

Again, I shrugged, more because I didn't know what to say than anything else. I avoided people as much as I could. Perhaps my speaking skills were a little rusty.

 

“I'm twenty-one,” Eren offered, though I didn't ask.

 

I nodded and fell silent as a grainy voice from the intercom announced our arrival time to be five minutes. It was a nice distraction, giving me time to kick myself for being interested in and maybe a little attracted to a brat ten years my junior.

 

For a moment, there was nothing between us but the rocking of the subway car and the rattle of train tires against rails.

 

Eren broke the silence to ask, “What did you want to do before?”

 

“Before?”

 

“Before you settled for pushing paper at an insurance company.”

 

I looked away, eyes skipping over advertisements above his head, before meeting his eyes again.

 

“Honestly? I never knew. I never had a calling. All I wanted was to travel, to see the world I was a part of and to experience things not everyone got to experience. But in college, there was so much pressure. You can't stay undeclared forever. I picked business because I figured there were a lot of things I could do with my degree. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I assumed I would become a business exec that traveled internationally and spent weeks in different countries, sightseeing between meetings. That didn't happen. Or, it hasn't happened yet,” I explained.

 

“It's never too late. You're still young. You're still breathing.”

  
Looking into Eren's shining, optimistic eyes made me believe for a moment that it _could_ happen. It made me want to cling to hope that had been dying inside of me for a while now.

 

“I don't think so,” I said, shaking my head.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because.”

 

“Because...?”

 

“Because, brat. That's how life is. You settle, you pay bills, you do what you're supposed to do. And then you die.”

 

“That's now how life is supposed to be. That's just how you're living it.”

 

“What would you know, kid? How much of the world have _you_ seen? What have _you_ experienced that makes you such a damn expert?”

 

“I've probably seen more than you, from the sound of it. You can't let fear take things away from you. Not without even fucking _trying_.”

 

“Well, what's your big dream then, brat? Are you striving towards it through selling movie tickets and sweeping up popcorn? Is that the big god damn secret to life?”

 

“Working at the theater is a means to making my dream happen, thank you very fucking much. It's not like my parents are there to help. That's the problem with you silver spoon kids. Parents pay for your education and you piss it away, wanting to stay lazy. You chose the easy way, the simpler way. Riding life's coat tails without changing anything. I want to help people. It won't be huge, but at least I'll have a fucking _impact_. Something to look back on at my deathbed and be satisfied with. Can you do that with your tie so tight around your itty bitty fucking neck?”

 

“Why, you fucking-”

 

We came to a jolting stop, causing me to cease midsentence and look around. The other occupants of the car were staring at us. We were both leaned forward, spitting our words at each other. The others stood, gathering their things awkwardly and walking past us with their heads down. Eren and I slowly grabbed our stuff and shuffled off after them.

 

We walked in silence from the underground to the surface, reemerging onto a busy sidewalk. We stopped and looked at each other before Eren cracked, a carefree grin splitting across his face. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't deny the small smile that slipped over my lips.

 

“Sorry, it's been a while since I've had to defend how I rolled over to life,” I apologized.

 

“No, I'm sorry. I just hate the thought of someone being unhappy and not doing anything about it,” he returned, shuffling awkwardly.

 

I sighed, running a hand over my face.

 

“Look, I haven't met anyone like you in a long time. I think I needed that. Needed someone to wake me up, you know?”

 

“Yeah, definitely.”

 

“Would you want to, I don't know, grab coffee or something sometime, kid?”

 

Eren's grin returned. He pulled a cell phone out of his back pocket, unlocking it and opening his contacts before handing it to me to enter my number. I handed it back and he hit the call button. My own phone began to ring in my front pocket. Puling it out, I opened my missed calls and went to add his number, letting him type in his full name and saving it.

 

“See you soon?” he asked shyly.

 

I nodded, and we turned and walked in opposite directions. I tried to resist, but after a few steps, I couldn't help but to look over my shoulder. When I did, we locked eyes again. He'd turned back, too. 

 

We laughed and waved and parted ways for real. I felt both heavier and lighter, in the best way possible.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm not sure if this is okay as a one shot? If you have any ideas, please let me know! :) 
> 
> Also, feel free to follow me on twitter & tumblr: @_maygardner // maygardner.tumblr.com


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